After continued negotiations and extensions, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. and Charter Communications Inc. have reached a new distribution deal.
The agreement covers continued carriage of Sinclair'sTV stations, 19 Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks and Tennis Channel (US). It also pertains to Marquee Sports Network LLC, the regional sports network home of the Chicago Cubs, which is Sinclair's partner in the joint venture, and YES Network (US), the local home of MLB's New York Yankees and the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. Sinclair holds a 20% stake in YES and has been handling its carriage negotiations.
Financial terms of the multiyear pact were not disclosed.
Representatives for Charter and Sinclair declined to discuss whether the new pact contains reported provisions that would migrate the RSNs from basic cable to a higher-priced tier.
The renewal with the nation's second-largest cable operator was critical for Sinclair as it continues to make its RSNs available via the linear bundle. Last year, the company reached a renewal accord with DISH Network Corp. for the broadcast stations but was unable to secure carriage for the RSNs. The networks had been off of DISH's systems since July 2019, a month before Sinclair purchased them from the Walt Disney Co.
Diamond Sports, the Sinclair subsidiary that runs its RSN business, is looking to launch in-market, direct-to-consumer streaming services with five MLB teams this season.
Although the company has never disclosed the clubs, they are widely believed to be the Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals.
Data from Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence, indicates that Charter is the leading distributor in Milwaukee, Kansas City and Tampa Bay.
"We are pleased to have reached a multi-year agreement with Charter to continue carriage of our full portfolio," Sinclair Senior Vice President, Head of Distribution and Network Relations Will Bell said in a statement. "Charter is a valued partner, and we look forward to continuing to provide our sports, news, and entertainment content to Charter's subscribers."
The Sinclair-Charter contract was set to expire at the end of February, but the parties continued to negotiate through an extension covering March and another carrying into April. With the ongoing discussions, there was never any service disruption.
